Reviews

Prominent title in Japanese “post-nuclear sublime” cinema, made at record cost by the studio behind Godzilla (1954) after a hugely successful novel by the same title from the same year.

Subject

Rapid tectonic developments cause the islands of Japan to sink beneath the sea. There is enough time to negotiate with other countries and evacuate, but who will want an insular people when its place is gone forever?

Commentary

Rich in nihonjinron-, Sonderweg-type mythology yet played with remarkable seriousness.